Thank you from Alf and Gloria Harmer

THANK YOU to each and every kind villager who sent us cards, brought flowers, food and drink, cooked us an evening meal and generally gave us a big moral lift when the cottage burnt down. Also, THANK YOU to the small army of men and women who rolled up their sleeves and turned up with their community spirit and good humour, spades, forks, shovels and wheelbarrows to clear the mountain of stinking, sodden mass we were left with. And lastly, a huge THANK YOU to the younger ones who worked equally hard and cheerfully for long hours, (I think they quite enjoyed getting filthy!).

We have been so warmed and heartened by the many villagers (some of whom are strangers to us) who have expressed their sorrow at losing what they described as a landmark of the village. It has become very clear to us over the past couple of weeks just how important our beautiful cottage is to so many people and how deeply affected they’ve been by the fire and destruction. We hope they will take comfort from knowing that Gordon Cottage will, once again, be lovingly restored to its former glory – we can’t wait.